Ryan wasn't like the other boys in the village.
Ever since he was little, he felt the sea calling to him.
Not a clear voice… but a strange sensation, as if something was watching him from afar.
Every time he approached the shore, his heart would race, as if memories that weren't his were trying to return.
But what terrified him most… were the dreams.
Every night, he saw the same scene:
Ships burning… screams… a giant shadow swallowing men… and a figure standing in the light…
Salim.
Ryan woke up with a start, breathing heavily.
He looked around; everything seemed normal… his room, the walls, the sound of the wind through the window.
But inside, nothing was normal.
He said to himself,
"Who is this… and why do I keep seeing him?"
The next morning, he decided to go to the sea.
He felt the answer was there.
He stood on the shore, gazing at the horizon.
The sea was calm… but not really.
Suddenly—he touched the water with his hand.
And then, in an instant… everything exploded.
He found himself not in the village… but in the middle of a battle.
He was holding a sword of light… and the shadow was before him.
He heard a voice say,
"You're late…"
He quickly withdrew his hand and fell to the sand, gasping for breath.
"What was that…?!"
But before he could process what had happened… something appeared in the water.
A light.
Faint… but clear.
Ryan stood up slowly, his eyes wide.
He wasn't just scared… he felt something stronger—
He knew this light.